• After 4,906 test kilometers and 14 days: Home victory for Yazeed Al-Rajhi in Saudi Arabia
• Timo Gottschalk celebrates second “Dakar” triumph after 2011
• Toughest “Dakar” ever pushes drivers, co-drivers and equipment to their limits

Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia (January 17, 2025) – Harder than mercilessly hard, stronger than the greatest pressure: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have won the automobile classification of the 2025 Dakar Rally. After 4,906 kilometers of testing and 52:52:15 hours against the clock, the Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo defeated their Toyota teammates Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (RSA/RSA) as well as Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist (SWE/SWE, Ford) and Nasser Al-Attiyah/Edouard Boulanger (QAT/FRA, Dacia) in Saudi Arabia. For the first time in 31 years and the second time ever, a driver in the automobile classification was able to celebrate his “Dakar” victory in his home country (1994: Paris-Dakar-Paris, Pierre Lartigue, France). At the same time, Al-Rajhi’s success marked the first ever flawless home victory for a competitor. It is Yazeed Al-Rajhi’s first triumph in the desert classic and Timo Gottschalk’s second since 2011.

“To be the first Saudi to win the automobile classification of the ‘Dakar’ is incredible. What’s more, at home, in front of our own fans. The entire rally was extremely demanding, strategically, driving-wise, navigationally – we managed to stay out of the worst trouble in this tough, long rally, positioned ourselves cleverly and deserved to win in the end!”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“That was definitely my toughest Dakar Rally so far. Even after the first week, I felt as if the whole ‘Dakar’ was already behind me. Physically and mentally, the organizers pushed us to the limit this time, sometimes even beyond. Celebrating this victory with Yazeed is one of the greatest moments of my career and hard to put into words. And we have so deserved it.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK

Sporting toughness: Dakar Rally pushes man and material to the limit

The 2025 edition of the Dakar Rally was probably the biggest challenge in its history. In addition to formats such as the 48-hour stage and the marathon stage, in which the participants were left to their own devices during the evening service, the first week of the classic was already relentless. The drivers worked up a sweat with extremely technical passages over stones, through canyons, through dried-up riverbeds and the first dune passages, while the navigators were faced with extremely tricky routes and a maze of turn-offs. The second week also honored the Dakar Rally as the toughest rally in the world: for example with speed passages, sharp stones and scree or with three special stages in the Empty Quarter and the associated endless dune fields, which brought decisions.

Sporting excitement: Lategan/Cummings vs. Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk

From the very beginning of the 2025 Dakar Rally, two duos were at the front: Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (RSA/RSA, Toyota) and Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Timo Gottschalk (KSA/GER; Toyota). This duel, which would later develop into the “Dakar” victory, was already raging on the second special stage, the 48-hour stage covering almost 1,000 kilometers. Initially, Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk took the virtual lead, later Lategan/Cummings. On the ninth stage, the tide turned in favor of Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk in the overall standings, only to go back and forth twice more in the following two days. The decisive move followed at around kilometer 4,670 of 4,906, when Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk played out their starting advantage on the penultimate special stage and took the lead, which they did not relinquish until the finish of the Dakar Rally.

Sporting value: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk take the lead in the world championship

At the Dakar Rally, which also marks the start of the FIA Cross-Country World Rally Championship (W2RC), stage successes are rewarded with additional points, as at the remaining events. Until the final day, Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk proved to be the most consistent drivers in this respect. Together with the WRC points for the “Dakar” victory, this means the lead in the WRC standings for driver and co-driver. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (21.-27.92.) is on the agenda at the end of February, the Rally South Africa (18.-24.05.) in mid-late May, the Rally Portugal (22.-28.09.) at the end of September and the Rally Morocco (10.-17.10.) in mid-October.